Rambling Film

I'll admit when I'm wrong. I was one of those people that went into this movie thinking I've seen it before. Technically, I have, the creepy kid, the few cheap scares, Vera Famiga having another crazy child. (anyone see 2007's "Joshua"?) The last hour of this film changed my mind and it's the reason I rank it up there with my favorites of the "creepy kid" genre. 'The Orphan' revolves around a copy played by Famiga and personal favorite Peter Sarsgaard. After the stillborn birth of their last child they decide to adopt, they already have 2 children. Dan (the always talented Jimmy Bennet) and nearly deaf Max (Aryana Engineer) they adopt little Esther (Isabelle Fuhrman) she's a sweet, well-mannered Russian girl who loves music and dressing like a china doll. Complete with ribbons she always wears in her hair and around her neck. She seems sweet enough, but then curious things start happening around Esther. The reason I enjoyed this f...

'The Edge of Love' is a British indie starring Keira Knightly, Sienna Miller, Cillian Murphy and Matthew Rhys. The story revolves around the relationships of these for people. Rhys is Dylan Thomas, a poet and a childhood friend of Vera (Knightly). When he and his wife Caitlin (Miller) move to London they eventually end up staying with Vera, who has a gig as a singer in the railway station. William (Murphy) is an army captain nearly off to war who meets Vera and eventually convinces her to marry him. With William off to war Dylan, Vera and Caitlin move to Wales. Dylan's poems aren't really selling, and it's often Vera who has to step in and help her friends financially. The film is an intense study of relationships. First the marriage between Dylan and Caitlin. At first they seem normal, they have a son, but Dylan still has an obvious affection for Vera who was his friend and first love. Then, there is the relationship between Vera and William. He courts her, and...

These are the Emmy nominees for the major categories. The winners will be announced on September 20th. Personally I have to say I'm so stoked to see that Jim Parsons was nominated in Best Lead Actor in a Comedy Series for 'The Big Bang Theory'. That show is absolutely brilliant, as is Parsons. Great to see South Park back in the animated category for 'Margaritaville'. That was a very smart episode. I'm also shocked to see that Family Guy managed to get themselves in the Comedy Series category! Good for them! (although I'll admit I find South Park way funnier..) Only gripe, where is 'Rescue Me'? That show should've been nominated for it's acting and it's writing. Denis Leary is one of the best guys on TV, and 'Rescue Me' continues to be one of the most interesting shows. It's a shame. Outstanding Comedy Series Nominees:"Entourage" (2004) "Family Guy" (1999) "The Flight of the Conchords" (2007) ...

Being a huge Harry Potter fan I always have to except the fact that the movies are not going to be the same as the book. It's impossible to fit every detail, and to take the film for what it's worth and look past that. I loved the Half Blood Prince, but I'm still having trouble getting over a few things. David Yates is back to direct, which is great. 'The Order of the Phoenix' was my favorite book until Deathly Hallows came out, and is my favorite of all the Potter movies. However the horrid screen writer Steve Kloves (who did not pen the screen play for OotP) is back and there starts my first problem. It's obvious which characters Kloves likes to write about and which ones he doesn't. Characters like Ron (Rupert Grint) get the put on the back burner and characters like Hermione (Emma Watson) go center stage. In this film there is far to much Harry/Hermione going on. It's no secret to anyone that's read the books that *spoiler* Ron and Hermione get...

Sacha Baron Cohen is back with one of his famous characters of 'Da Ali G Show' fame. This time, with a very flamboyant, very gay Austrian fashionista by the name of Bruno. Universal Pictures did a good job of marketing this and making everyone remember that this guy is the one that did "Borat" in 2006. Everything from the film's tag line to the TV spots mentioned it's previous film which ended up being a commercial hit and even won Cohen the Golden Globe for Best Actor in a comedy and gave one of the most hilarious exception speeches I've ever heard. While Borat may have been the most amusing of the two, Bruno does not disappoint. We follow Bruno in this documentary style film as he's booted from fashion week in Italy and decides to go to American to be "a celebrity". We see him as he tries to interview stars (he gets a very awkward one with Paula Abdul) pitches he's tv show and manages to completely freak out Ron Paul. He adopts an A...

Michael Mann's film about notorious bank robber John Dillinger (Johnny Depp) and his crimes during the depression era. This film boasts a talented cast (Depp, Christian Bale, Marion Cotillard) great cinematography and a hell of a lot of shooting sequenes. The story follows Dillinger and his crew as they rob banks across the Midwest during the 1930's. After breaking out of prisons (more than once) and wooing a beautiful girl, Billie Freschette (Cotillard), Dillinger and Co. continue their streak as nearly untouchable thieves. Melvin Purvis (Bale) is assigned to catch public enemy # 1. They use new methods (tracing Dillinger's purchases, listening in on phone calls) to get closer and closer to him, only to watch him slip away each time. The film is a great game of "Cat and Mouse" with lots of shootings and chase scenes. Sometimes they can get a bit overwhelming, but the actors are so good at playing their characters it makes up for it. Depp is fantastic as Dil...

How you will respond to this film depends on the idea you have of it going in. If you want to see robots fighting, lots of neat CGI, and the ridiculously hot Megan Fox, then you'll love it. If your looking for an intriguing plot, then..this isn't for you. I loved the first Trasformers and I enjoyed the second. I know a lot of people would disagree but I take it for what it's worth. The cars transforming into the Autobots/Decepticons was always my favorite part to watch, and you get to see a lot of that. While its at times hard to tell what Robot is hitting the other (i.e Optimus Prime battling Megatron in the forest was one huge mind f*ck considering all you could see was metal) I wasn't expecting a great plot, and thank God my expectations were low because this one was all over the place. The film starts 2 years later, with Sam (the always capable Shia LeBouef) heading off to college. His girlfriend Mikaela (Megan Fox) is not following him, but they will still rem...

Just letting everyone know about the posts below, I know the dates seem "a bit late". I've just copied and pasted some of my older reviews from the site that used to host them. I'm not going to be changing site again after this one. Just wanted to point out that I didn't review all of those films, and all the major award ceremonies all in one day :)

The long wait is finally here for Zack Snyder’s “Watchmen”. and It was definitely worth the wait. “Watchmen” follows a group of masked vigilantes in an alternate reality. It’s 1985, Richard Nixon is still president. The USA won the Vietnam war, and everyone is paranoid that the US will have a nuclear war with the USSR. The film starts with The Comedian (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) being murdered. Rorschach (the great Jackie Earl Haley) thinks someone is attacking all of the “Watchmen” a 2nd generation of masked vigilantes that have been outlawed and shunned by the crowd in the 70’s. The film introduces them to us, gives us their back story, and we watch as it all unfolds. “Watchmen” is one of the best graphic novels ever written. Many people have been waiting for his movie, and have built up the hype. For me, I didn’t hype it up. “Watchmen” was one long comic, how they were going to include everything was beyond me. I was pleasantly surprised. The movie is nearly 3 hours long, and they s...

What a night for the 81st Academy Awards. There were so many memorable moments. Heath Ledger winning his much deserved Oscar! James Franco mispronouncing “Spielzuegland” and Seth Rogan’s signature laugh following, Reese Witherspoon, Amy Adams, and Freida Pinto’s beautiful gowns. Danny Boyle’s “tigger” impression while excepting his Best Director statue, and Ben Stiller’s hilarious (yet mean) impression of Joaquin Phoenix. Robert DeNiro’s remark “how for all those years did Sean Penn get away with playing straight men!” Anne Hathaway’s genuine smile when Kate Winslet finally won Best Actress. Sean Penn beating out Mickey Rourke (I knew it would be a close race, but I definetly didn’t expect Penn to win) Screen writer Dustin Lance Black’s inspirational speech he gave when he won Best Original Screenplay. And last but not least, Slumdog Millionaire winning Best Picture. Although the musical numbers seemed very awkward, it’s nice to see how talented our host Hugh Jackman really is. Now I’m...

Best Feature WINNER The Wrestler (2008): Darren Aronofsky, Scott Franklin Other Nominees: Ballast (2008): Lance Hammer, Nina Parikh Frozen River (2008): Chip Hourihan, Heather Rae Rachel Getting Married (2008): Neda Armian, Jonathan Demme, Marc E. Platt Wendy and Lucy (2008): Larry Fessenden, Neil Kopp, Anish Savjani Best Female Lead WINNER Melissa Leo for Frozen River (2008) Other Nominees: Summer Bishil for Nothing Is Private (2007) Anne Hathaway for Rachel Getting Married (2008) Tarra Riggs for Ballast (2008) Michelle Williams for Wendy and Lucy (2008) Best Male Lead WINNER Mickey Rourke for The Wrestler (2008) Other Nominees: Javier Bardem for Vicky Cristina Barcelona (2008) Richard Jenkins for The Visitor (2007/I) Sean Penn for Milk (2008/I) Jeremy Renner for The Hurt Locker (2008) Best Supporting Female WINNER Penélope Cruz for Vicky Cristina Barcelona (2008) Other Nominees: Rosemarie DeWitt for Rachel Getting Married (2008) Rosie Perez for The Take (2007) Misty Upham for Frozen ...

One of my favorite critics, Matt Singer over at IFC joked about starting a petition to rename this film “He’s Right Behind You, Moron”. That title fits this movie very well, but as far as slasher movies go. This one is actually quite decent. I sometimes have to remind myself that these movies are meant to scare people, to me, the average slasher film is hilarious. Occasionally jumpy (mostly due to loud noises) and interesting special effects. The stupidity of the teenagers in these films are always astounding, running up the stairs instead of out the front door, no cell phone signal (although the first camper’s GPS worked just fine) the obligatory boob shot (in this case, nearly every female onscreen is topless at some point in this film) and the underlining racial slur, (Am I the only one that noticed that while the Asian teen is being murdered in the woodshed, his friend comes out to find him armed with a wok?) Yes, the new “Friday the 13th” has all the cliches of the slasher fil...

“Taken” centers around Bryan Mills (Liam Neeson), a former spy or “protector” for the US government who has recently retired to spend more time with his 17 year old daughter, Kim (Maggie Grace) Kim lives with her mother and stepfather, and rarely gets to see Bryan. Kim is invited to spend part of the summer with her friend Amanda in France, her mother immediately says yes, while Bryan is not comfortable with the situation. He eventually gives in, under the condition Kim calls him every day he’s there. Kim and Amanda meet someone at the airport who shares a cab ride home, while Kim is on the phone with Brian 4 men swarm in the house and kidnap them. Bryan traces the phone call and immediately gets a flight to France. After learning his daughter has been kidnapped by sex traffickers, Brian only has roughly 96 hours before he loses her for good. When I first found out this movie was rated PG13 I was almost disappointed. I didn’t think it could possibly be as “badass” as the ‘Die Hard’ f...

All the fuss about Kate Winslet’s performance immediately made me want to see this film. Being a huge Kate fan, this film is definitely one of her best, “The Reader” is about a young man named Michael Berg (David Kross). When Michael was 15, he had an affair with a much older woman named Hanna (Kate Winslet) over the course of one summer. Hanna took care of him when he was ill, and in turn he read to her. She loved to be read to, then one day she disappears. We’re taken a few years later, when Michael is a law student. He attends the trial of former Nazi war criminals, one of them being Hanna. Now that’s he knows her big secret he’s torn on whether to save her or not. He has valuable information that could keep her away from jail, but will she want to admit it? The story is told by the adult Michael (now played by Ralph Fiennes) Who is recalling this story 18 years later. The Reader is a great film, very smart, the acting is top notch, and it was a pleasant surprise to see it no...

Mickey Rourke makes a comeback in this gritty drama about a retired professional wrestler trying to have a normal life What drew me to this movie first was that many professional wrestling company's (Particularly Vince McMahon’s WWE) weren’t that impressed at first. This movie exposes a lot of what went on backstage at a wrestling show in the 80’s and probably the 90’s. They were quick to say that wrestling has changed, which I’m sure it has with all the drug policies they have intact now. But apparently they saw the publicity this film was getting. (and possibly took a note from their rival, TNA Impact who were never against it), now WWE airs tv spots for this film during their shows. This film is truly Rourke’s “comeback” from being a star in the 80’s, to a so so boxer, to this. His performance is amazing (as our his co-stars Tomei and Wood) and he’s completely passable as a beat up old wrestler. Some compare this performance with real life wrestler, Mick Foley. That isn’t fa...

Clint Eastwood is at his best directing and staring in this film about racism, gangs, and live after war. Gran Torino Eastwood stars as Walt Kowalski, a Korean war vet who recently lost his wife. He doesn’t get along with his sons (or anyone else for that matter) and refuses to move out of his old neighborhood which is now mainly occupied by people of different races, and is on a bad side of town. He gets new Hmoung neighbors, and after ignoring them for the most part until the boy, Thao (Bee Vang) tries to steal his prized 73′ Gran Torino under pressure of his cousin’s gang. Thao’s family pushes him to make it up to Walt, and Walt befriends Thao’s younger sister, Sue (Ahney Her). Walt becomes interested in the Hmoung culture, feels drawn to protect them when a pushy gang starts to mess with them. For those of you familiar with ‘The Good, The Bad, The Ugly’ or the “Dirty Harry” series it’s great to see a badass Eastwood back. The film is full of racial slurs against everyone,...

*Britt’s blog on the Golden Globes is below* Best Motion Picture - Drama WINNER Slumdog Millionaire (2008) Other Nominees: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008) Frost/Nixon (2008) The Reader (2008) Revolutionary Road (2008) Best Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy WINNER Vicky Cristina Barcelona (2008) Other Nominees: Burn After Reading (2008) Happy-Go-Lucky (2008) In Bruges (2008) Mamma Mia! (2008) Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Drama WINNER Mickey Rourke for The Wrestler (2008) Other Nominees: Leonardo DiCaprio for Revolutionary Road (2008) Frank Langella for Frost/Nixon (2008) Sean Penn for Milk (2008) Brad Pitt for The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008) Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture - Drama WINNER Kate Winslet for Revolutionary Road (2008) Other Nominees: Anne Hathaway for Rachel Getting Married (2008) Angelina Jolie for Changeling (2008) Meryl Streep for Doubt (2008) Kristin Scott Thomas for Il y a longtemps que je t’aime (2008) Be...

Best Feature • Rachel Getting Married Neda Armian, Jonathan Demme, Marc Platt • The Wrestler Darren Aronofsky, Scott Franklin • Wendy and Lucy Larry Fessenden, Neil Kopp, Anish Savjani • Ballast Lance Hammer, Nina Parikh • Frozen River Chip Hourihan, Heather Rae Best Director • Tom McCarthy The Visitor • Jonathan Demme Rachel Getting Married • Courtney Hunt Frozen River • Ramin Bahrani Chop Shop • Lance Hammer Ballast Best First Feature • Afterschool Antonio Campos, Sean Durkin, Josh Mond • Medicine for Melancholy Barry Jenkins, Justin Barber • Synecdoche, New York Charlie Kaufman, Anthony Bregman, Spike Jonze, Sidney Kimmel • Sleep Dealer Alex Rivera, Anthony Bregman • Sangre De Mi Sangre Christopher Zalla, Per Melita, Benjamin Odell John Cassavetes Award • Prince of Broadway Sean Baker, Darren Dean • Take Out Sean Baker, Shih-Ching Tsou • The Signal David Bruckner, Dan Bush, Jacob Gentry, Alexander Motlagh • Turn the River Chris Eigeman, Ami Armstrong • In Search of a Midnight Kiss A...

You know when you see previews of some comedies and you wonder if they put all the funny parts in the previews? That was my first impression of ‘Role Models’ when I saw it’s trailer, but nonetheless I was a fan of many of the actors in the film so I gave it a shot. I’m happy to admit that I was totally off and this is probably one of the funniest movies I have seen all year. ‘Role Models’ is about two energy drink salesmen, Danny (Paul Rudd) and Wheeler (Seann William Scott) who end up with community service after disturbing the peace and damaging school property…all in a fit of rage by Danny after his girlfriend Beth (Elizabeth Banks) breaks up with him. They are sent to a “Big brother little brother” type center run by Gayle (the absolutely hilarious Jane Lynch) Danny is paired with Augie Farks (Christoper Mintz-Plasse) a socially awkward teenager obsessed with medieval role play, but ignored by his not-so-loving parents. and Wheeler is paired with Ronny(Bobbe’e J. Thompson), an ...

Director Kevin Smith takes a break from his “View Askewuniverse” to bring us this equally wonderful film. “Zach and Miri Make a Porno”. Smith ran into a bit of trouble during the marketing of the film. It was first slapped with an NC-17 rating, which was later appealed to an R. While I’m sure the NC17 rated content will be in the DVD, I found it a bit unfair that they tried so hard to give it such a harsh rating. They also rejected the first poster, deeming it “too sexual”, Smith drew up a stick figure poster instead. Being a long time Kevin Smith fan, I was rather bothered by all of this at first. I wanted to see my Kevin Smith movie, and I wanted to see it the way he wanted his fans to see it. Needless to say after all the rukus I was still very pleased with the flick I saw. Great (platonic) friends Zach (Seth Rogen) and Miri (Elizabeth Banks) are running short on cash. After nearly all of their utilities are turned off at their apartment they come up with the brilliant? idea to ...

Angelina Jolie is such a tabloid target. She’s in every magazine you read, people constantly talk about her private life (her loads of kids), her humanitarian work (complete globe trotter) that people forget the reason we all know who she is. Her ACTING. And by all means, shes fantastic at it. Jolie has done a lot of great action movies where the effects and cool angles are focused on more than the actors themselves. (i.e Tomb Raider, Wanted) “Changeling” is a perfect example of why Jolie is such a capable actress. It allows her to dive deep into a troubled character, and really lets us feel said character’s emotions. Jolie has shown us this before, her Oscar winning turn in ‘Girl Interupted” and also in “A Mighty Heart”. “Changeling” is set in the 1920’s and is about a woman named Christine Collins, who’s 9 year old son goes missing after she leaves him home alone. Months later the LAPD returns the boy to her, only Christine knows its not her son. There are obvious signs, this bo...

Ed Harris directed, starred, wrote and co-produced this film. Clearly he put a lot of hours and hard work into this. He casted talented leads like his ‘A History of Violence’ co star Viggo Mortensen (Eastern Promises, Lord of the Rings) Renee Zellweger (Chicago, Cold Mountain) and Jeremy Irons (Earagon, Lolita). The acting is top notch, but a weak script and lack of climax makes what would be a stellar movie fall a little short. appaloosa Appaloosa begins with two men, Virgil Cole (Harris) and Everett Hitch (Mortensen) who have been asked to police a small town called “Appaloosa” that has been terrorized by a rancher, Braggs (Irons). Cole is obviously the head man, with Hitch being the more intelligent sidekick that carries around an 8mm rifle throughout the entire film. They re-write the laws and take control of the town, while Cole falls for a young lady named, Ally (Zelweger). They arrest Braggs and prepare to take him to be hanged only to have Bragg’s men kidnap Ally and de...

Based on the acclaimed novel of the same name by Sue Monk Kidd, ‘The Secret Life of Bees’ follows young Lilly Owens (the fabulous Dakota Fanning) as she runs away with her nanny/friend Rosalene (Oscar winner: Jennifer Hudson). Lily is trying to escape her abusive father and her troubled past. They stumble upon a family of bee keepers, August, May and June (Queen Latifah, Alicia Keyes and Sophie Okonedo) They take them in and teach them the ways of bee keeping, and also teach them lessons in life and love. “Bees” in terms of a novel made into a film is one of the best in my opinion. Alot of people had a problem with Dakota Fanning playing Lily Owens when it was first annoced, however she’s darkened her hair and grown up a little bit, she’s exactly how I pictured Lily years ago when I read the novel. Fanning is great as always, as are the supporting cast, including Paul Bettney as T. Ray Owens, Lily’s father. This film tries hard not to come off has just another “chick flick”, it’s a tea...

Now on DVD. I came across ‘The Life Before Her Eyes’ awhile ago when it went by the working title ‘In Bloom’, and trust me the new title makes A LOT more sense for this film. The film stars Uma Thurman as Diana, and the always fabulous Evan Rachel Wood as the younger version. Younger Diana goes through a traumatic “Columbine” type incident at her high school, as an adult she cannot forget what happened, and the film shows us how she goes on with her everyday life in the aftermath. Now at first it plays out a little like a Lifetime film, except with better acting. But it’s the ending of this film that throws you, and some people’s initial feeling (like mine) was anger, but then you realize how original that it is, and if it had ended the way you thought it would, it would be just another lifetime movie. Yes, there is a twist in the end, I won’t tell you because it will literally ruin the entire movie, but what I do advise you to do if you watch this film is to pay close attention ...

This flick is based on a book, but one thing I recommend doing before seeing this film if you’ve read the novel is to remember, they are two totally different things. I actually think that’s a wise decision for any movie that’s based on a book. The book is obviously going to be more detailed, so respect the fact that the film will be different. In which this case, it is. Nick (Michael Cera) has just been dumped by his longtime girlfriend. He is the only straight person in a queercore band ‘The Jerkoffs’. He goes out to New York City’s crazy underground music scene and meets Norah (Kat Dennings) and her extremely intoxicated friend, Caroline (Ari Graynor). Thus begins one electric night of chasing Caroline, trying to find their favorite band’s secret concert and bonding over their love of music. This movie was enjoyable (and has one heck of a soundtrack) but in a way, mostly due to Michael Cera’s performance it tries a bit to hard to come off as an “indie” movie. I know it’s an odd ...

I chose to see this film because Dakota Fanning is always a capable actress, and also as a little "fuck you" to all those idiots that freaked out about the films rape scene before even seeing the movie. ‘Hounddog’ infamously premiered at the 2007 Sundance Film Festival an became known as ‘The Dakota Fanning rape movie” A ridiculous title that has nothing to do with what Hounddog is really about. ‘Hounddog’ follows a precious girl, Lewellen (Dakota Fanning) during the 1960’s in the deep south. She lives with her uncaring, crazy father (David Morse) and her Grannie (Piper Laurie). She lives in poverty, her father doesn’t care, she finds comfort in the songs of Elvis Presley. She’d do just about anything to meet him, stuck on the dream that he will take her away and make her into a famous singer. She’s cruelly tricked into thinking she’s got tickets, which leads to her being withdrawn, and not the charismatic girl she used to be. I can start off by saying this film is not ...

Towelhead” premiered at the Toronto Film Festival last year under the name, ‘Nothing is Private’, a name that both the writer, director, and cast weren’t too found of. After a slight uproar due to the film’s sensitive content, it was renamed “Towelhead”, like the original script, and also the novel by Alicia Erian. Towelhead follows a young Arab-American girl, Jashira (Summer Bishil) who is coming of age during the Gulf War. She’s sent to live with her strict father, Rifat (Peter Macdissi) by her not so caring mother Gail (Maria Bello). Jashira struggles with racism, growing up, and her relationships with her uncaring, older boyfriend, and her neighbors, (Played by Aaron Eackhart and Toni Collette). I had high expectations for this film, especially since so many people lashed out at it last year. I became intrigued, and needless to say this movie did not let me down. It is hard to watch at times, but Director Alan Ball (who wrote the screenplay for my personal favorite movie, Am...

Hey all, I recently took a trip to Minneapolis, MN to see some great flicks and the always wonderful Indie Lagoon theaters. Enjoy, and comment please “Choke” is a film based on a novel of the same name written by Chuck Palahnuik, who also wrote ‘Fight Club’. “Choke” follows Victor (Sam Rockwall). He’s a sex addict, he attends meetings with his fellow addict/co worker/best friend Denny (Brad William Henke). In the morning he works at an 18th century tourist spot where he and Denny constantly are getting in trouble for breaking character. By night, he fakes choking at up-scale restaurants so that people can ’save’ him. Once they’ve done that they feel responsible for Victor’s life and send him money, which he uses to keep his Alzheimer’s inflicted mother Ida(Angelica Huston) in a fancy nursing home. As his mother gets worse, he forms a relationship with a doctor, Paige (Kelly MacDonald) who thinks she can save her. Their whirlwind journey starts there as Victor attempts to help save...

Here is a list of winners from TV’s biggest night! I’m personally glad that 30 Rock picked up so many awards, because that’s a great show. My only disappointment was Denis Leary not winning Best Supporting Actor for Recount Outstanding Comedy Series WINNER “30 Rock” (2006) Other Nominees: “Curb Your Enthusiasm” (2000) “Entourage” (2004) “The Office” (2005) “Two and a Half Men” (2003) Outstanding Drama Series WINNER “Mad Men” (2007) Other Nominees: “Boston Legal” (2004) “Damages” (2007) “Dexter” (2006) “House M.D.” (2004) “Lost” (2004) Outstanding Made for Television Movie WINNER Recount (2008) (TV) Other Nominees: Bernard and Doris (2007) “Extras: The Extra Special Series Finale (#3.0)” (2007) The Memory Keeper’s Daughter (2008) (TV) A Raisin in the Sun (2008) (TV) Outstanding Miniseries WINNER “John Adams” (2008) Other Nominees: The Andromeda Strain (2008) (TV) “Cranford” (2007) “Tin Man” (2007) Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series WINNER Alec Baldwin for “30 Rock” (2006) Other ...

There have been a lot of comedies this summer that have been very “hit and miss”. Only two comedies in my opinion stand out from the rest. They would have to be “Pineapple Express” and the topic of my review “Tropic Thunder” The entire point of Tropic Thunder is a satire on the ways of Hollywood. and Director/Writer/Actor Ben Stiller is spot on. While some of the Hollywood inside jokes may go over a few people’s heads. The rest are spot on, hilarious, and hit very close to home. The plot is a movie within a movie. Action Star Tugg Speedman (Ben Stiller) Funny man Jeff Portney (Jack Black) 5 time Acedemy Award Winner Kirk Lazarus (Robert Downey Jr.) and rapper turned actor Alpa Chino (Brandon T. Jackson) are just a few of the stars set to film ‘Tropic Thunder’, a big budget Vietnam war movie. Through an outrageous turn of events, the actors are thrown into the jungle in the middle of a real war between drug lords. The Naive actors don’t realize this, they are being told that they ...

Fresh off their Oscar winning film ‘No Country for Old Men’, Joel and Ethan Coen go back to their off-beat comedic ways with ‘Burn After Reading’. For those of you who have followed the Coens with films such as ‘The Big Lebowski’ and ‘Raising Arizona’ you will be pleased that they have decided to go back to that genre, however where they scored with their previous films they tend to miss with this one. The film starts out with Osborne Cox (John Malkovich) being demoted from his job with the CIA, he ultimately decides to quit and write a memoir about his life, which doesn’t set to well with his uptight wife, Katie (Tilda Swinton), who unbeknownst to him is having an affair with Harry, (George Clooney) while his wife is out promoting the children’s books that she writes. As Oz and Katie’s marriage grows further apart, she begins to sort out their financials (including much of Oz’s CIA info). She puts them on a disc to give to her lawyer. The Lawyer ultimately loses this disc at her l...